Foxboy and Wolfboy
by Starry's Light
Summary: Keaton gets lost with his bro Kaden on a walk! What happens when a chance encounter nearly destroys something more precious than their friendship? Shippy romance oneshot for my friend's birthday!


**This is for my friend! His birthday's comin up so I decided to write this for him cuz I know he likes this ship, ahaha, but since it is a fanfiction, that's why I've uploaded it. Cuz... why not xD**

 **Uh... enjoy! Look out it's gay**

Foxboy and Wolfboy

Off in the breezy hillocks of decidedly Hoshidan territory, a fluffy duo worked their way through swathes of tall grass. The higher they got up the hills, the more trees muddied their trail, and the more likely it was the fire-haired man in the back would... tease.

"Oh my, it's so aggravating how you get us lost every time~" With a pompous little twitch of his giant, fluffy tail, he stuck up his nose, an unstoppably snide grin upon his soft face. Of course, his companion strode in _front_ of him and thus couldn't see this little display of frivolity, but did he care? Actually, he probably did, he was that kinda guy.

In response, Keaton's black-and-white-striped tail flickered. It was stumpier, much shorter, than his companion's massive lug of orange fur. This was all very fitting. "Uhhh, Kaden... Then why're you makin' me lead? Just get up here and do it yourself, love." And Keaton even stopped, his boots clicking once together as he stood there, waiting, a snide little grin flecked upon his own pale face.

Kaden scoffed. "Of _course_ not! If _I_ go ahead, then it's far more likely I'll bumble into a bushel and _soil_ my gorgeous tail!" This was not his true reason, but he figured he was narcissistic enough for the wolfskin to think he was telling the truth.

"Of course, of course, can't have your furball looking worse than it already does." Keaton's grin widened. "Hehehhhhh~ We could always just trim it, then it'll be harder to soi—"

"Noooooooo _oooouuuuhhh!_ " Kaden let out a horribly melodramatic wail. "You are mocking me, Keaton!" With a hefty pout, he folded his arms angrily across his chest.

As he'd stopped to let his orange companion step ahead, Keaton could this time see Kaden's tantrum in full form. He rolled his eyes, unimpressed. "Then why complain about my directions if you aren't gonna bother to help me here." And, well, Kaden may have been a tad self-absorbed, but he wasn't at all a horrible person.

"G-Good point. Carry on. Ah, sorry about that." It was pretty aggravatingly cute though.

With a long breath, Keaton carried on. It was actually a bad idea from the start to have Keaton lead the two of them, since the wolfskin had a notoriously poor sense of direction, so it truly was a mystery as to why Kaden wouldn't just step up. After all, the kitsune held the role of chief of his tribe.

Kaden's eyes glazed. "Hey, d'you ever wonder if you'll run into some of your pack, being out in the open like this? I ah... I worry about it oftentimes." He carefully unwrapped his brush from where he hid it in his tail, smoothing out his orange hair. His hand shook a little about his grip on the handle. "I haven't... been back in awhile. Ever since—well, after one human helps us, and then I have to go on and carry that kindness over, and then I just forgot my way home and kept... relying on kindness to get my way here, and..."

He left off, a little dumbfounded. He really couldn't remember the last he'd seen of his tribe. Had it been a year already. N-No! Or was it? Sh-Shoot, so hard to say.

"Well, of course I do." Keaton paused. "I wasn't really that great of a pack leader though. They sort of only chose me because the guy who was stronger than me didn't wanna. And then... hahhhhh, it's probably for the best they end up with whoever came after me. Don't even remember the sorry guy's name..."

Kaden winced. "We are quite the sorry lot."

"Nah, you've got a better excuse than me. I went searching for cool bugs... and now I am here. And that's literally it. At least you're a nice guy."

Blush exploded upon Kaden's pale cheeks. "W-Well _you're_ nice too, you know! You're not making me lead, even though we are incredibly lost! I just, you're pretty _great_!" He firmly held his brush with both hands, and it looked incredibly awkward, hiking up the side of a hill with a fancy little brush.

Keaton snickered. "You say that like it's a competition~" His stumpy tail flicking, he strode forward in a particularly confident gait, only to slam against a tree. "Awww dammit that wasn't my faaaullt... how was I supposed to see it there..."

"It helps if you walk with your eyes open," his companion interjected, his voice a light tone. "A-And it's not a competition, or anything! I'm just... saying that you're cool. T-Take a compliment."

"Mmmmm, Our Majesty Kaden has bestowed upon me his kindest regards~"

The flush on Kaden's face grew. "Th-That's absolutely correct!"

"Hahhhh..."

He gripped his brush tightly, squeezed it with his hands, and reluctantly stuffed it back into his tail.

The two wandered into a small clearing. Trees guarded the edges like warriors, and the men felt their tails prickling with the thought of how many could possibly be hiding just outside of their view. Not to mention the... rumors of... invisible... warriors...

Kaden squeaked and stubbornly grabbed Keaton's larger hand, then cried, "You're so warm! Oh gods I'm so freakin' scared!"

"You're scared of how warm I—"

"No I just, I-I'm quite on edge here!"

A low, soft chortle from the wolfskin. "I... I know. I feel it too. They could be anywhere. That's why I asked if you wanted to lead us out of here..." but he trailed off as his eyes fell upon a peculiar stone lodged in the earth. Tentative, his hackles steadily rising, Keaton slid over to it, dragging a more and more terrified Kaden in his sweeping gait.

Quickly the orange kitsune ducked under Keaton's muscular figure, his head under his companion's. "Wh-What's—What's going on!"

Then Keaton squatted by the rock and picked it up. He stared at it for a very long, trembling second, the cool stone's surface gleaming with a sort of tension, then pocketed it. "Man, what a cool rock! It's going into my collection."

"GODS I THOUGHT YOU SAW SOMETHING YOU NOTORIOUS BASTARD!"

Keaton suddenly wrapped his free hand around Kaden's pale lips. "Shhh. If someone _was_ here, they would've heard us just now."

Under his companion's large palm, Kaden muttered something low and shameful, his eyes hard on the spot where the rock was.

"Awww, it's okay, buddy. I'm pretty strong, so I could protect you easy. I know how _delicate_ you kistune—"

"Hey! I'd protect you too, you know!" At some point Kaden had tucked his hand under Keaton's and pulled it from his mouth. Now he stared pouting up at the cocky wolfskin, his gleaming gaze—one eye blue, the other more hazel—his disheveled black-and-white hair, his twitching wolfskin ears.

Breath short, he asked, "Wh-Why do you think I wanted you to lead us?"

Keaton gave him this oddly quiet stare, his face... expressionless. "I don't know." Then his husky tone lowered. "But I think I hear someone comi—"

An invisible kick sent the wolfskin sailing, his hands ripped from Kaden's painstaking grip. He crumpled somewhere further along the clearing—

"HOLY G-GODS YOU CAN'T—" Kaden cut himself off. A molten anger hardened over his flushed face as he stood back and twirled into a sudden backflip—on his way down his draping clothes dissipated into his flesh and fur quickly took its place. The orange kitsune landed neatly, then shot after the invisible force making its methodical way toward his friend.

Panting, his paws slipped across grass—reaching out with each step in case claws caught against—cloth.

A horrible growl caught in his maw. The kitsune slammed hard against the enemy, forcing it to fall, knees buckling—when its sword, its invisible sword, caught on his foreleg.

Kaden whimpered, tried to breathe, bit his tongue—pushed harder, tried to dive around a blade he couldn't even see. His claws sought, scrabbling up the warrior's body until finally, mercifully, his thin paws slipped into armor chinks and sunk into soft neck.

The invisible enemy moaned, softly, and it was done.

The kitsune flew off of it and darted toward his fallen comrade. One paw cupped around his scratched cheek, his head heavy—unconscious? Just—o-oh come on Keaton was a freaking _tank_ there's no way he didn't survive it...  
but he wasn't in wolf form...

One paw morphed teasingly into a hand, pressed hard against Keaton's cold cheek, while Kaden's kitsune head swiveled amongst the clearing. His ears flickered and he focused but he... couldn't hear—

A free paw _swung_ out and clashed against a beefy arm, forcing an invisible mace to fall out of the warrior's hands. When it plunked upon the ground, cold metal shimmered faintly before disappearing into the enemy's grip once more.

Specks of dirt had clung to it. Kaden tried to focus on where the dirt was when he heard—and he _leapt_ to the other side, forcing another enemy down—his paws scrabbling for the neck when—when down his underside he felt the cold slice of metal _sluurrrggee_ into flesh and he—he made this awful _YIPE—_

Panting, panting harder, blood spilling into the enemy's blade, the blade a red streak in the air, Kaden forcibly sunk his claws into the enemy's soft neck only for the mace to come down hard on his back and—

A low groan spilled out of him, along with any remaining breath in his lungs. He could hear two, three more enemies up ahead and he forced his sleepy limbs to move, striking down dirt-speck-mace warrior only to be confronted by two on one flank, the third encircling behind—

None of them, none of them going for Keaton. Keaton looked dead, Kaden did not.

Breathless relief slipped out of his muzzle.

Kaden _tore_ through the two's ranks, weaving through the little slip of air between them. His feet kicked up dust in the peaty soil, spattering against the enemies, revealing tiny edges and curves to feet that he would've been blind to. Carefully Kaden followed the lines of their movements, his wounds bleeding out all over the earth, his mind trying to keep track of how many enemies could possibly be left...

but it was hard to think now... like he was... like thinking through syrup...

and there was red in his gaze, when did that... was there another... but he turned and he couldn't see anyone, just another red streak—coming down by his head and he... and he sidestepped, sort of, but then three more were behind him and somebody tripped over his tail and then... then he...

blood over them—the enemies, he saw them but he, numb... turned around, slipped past them again, except he didn't because now his side hurt... what did he...

forced himself to—to run, kept...

who was...

"Nnhh"—

Footsteps.

Dancing all around his head he heard footsteps, then suddenly, finally, Keaton tore himself from the throes of sleep. He began to run, his arms sinking to the ground, his legs bouncing, his tail growing even shorter and stumpier, his shirt melting into his chest—

The massive, black-and-red wolfskin stood carefully over an orange kitsune's body. He could feel the nicks of blades going for him, but his rough hide took them all with ease. The wolfskin felt the sudden swing of one, then surged in that direction and slashed a head out of armor.

He listened again, felt the swing of air—

Slashed, another head falling. Breathing, heavy, he waited patiently, then _pounced_ before the other guys could finish their swings and sent them both to their graves, his claws oozing with their—

Keaton collapsed. He painstakingly began the task of wiping his paws on the grass before—once he'd judged them clean enough—slowly shrunk into his disheveled human self. He darted on all fours over to the orange-furred kitsune, his mostly-clean hands sinking into its luscious mane, and he whispered by its ear, "K-Kaden, you have to transform back." Gently shook him. "Kaden, listen to me, you have to... C-C'mon, buddy..." He bit his lip, blood bubbling beneath sharp claw-like teeth. "Your wounds, i-if you don't transform, you'll..."

But Kaden wasn't moving.

"Hey... buddy..." Keaton took the kitsune's thick, lithe head in his large hands and petted it, softly. He crouched by its ear, whispered, "Kaden... listen to me... c-c'mon, you've got the strength in there somewhere... I-I know you, I'd like to think better than anyone..." His eyes dimmed and he shut them fitfully. "Even if you don't feel the same, I..."

He hugged the kitsune's head. Waiting, waiting...

"Kaden... Kaden, you d-don't have to do a backflip every time..." Something small and wet had fallen from the wolfskin, pelting the kitsune's sparkly fur. "You're cool to me, whether or not... y-you do a backflip..."

Keaton dropped his hands.

His chest heaved.

When his eyes slowly opened, all he could see was the silent, wobbly silhouette of somebody wonderful, somebody who made him happy, so happy...

Keaton leaned into him, his silent...  
and his lips softly addressed the kitsune's head.

He pulled back, his embarrassment enough to clear his head a little—when he felt slender hands creep around his face and tug him back. His heart throbbed in his chest as he leaned closer and felt tender lips press against his own.

Keaton's arms encircled him, hugging him close, careful around his newly-healed skin.

Breathless, the kitsune leaned back. His eyes—a warm amber—met Keaton's blue-and-hazel stare. "Heh... Uhhhh... actually, that's why I made you lead."

"Wh-What?" Keaton tried to laugh, but somehow it hurt too much to.

"Because I knew you'd get us lost somewhere, where nobody else was around, and..." This funny little smile addressed Kaden's lips, as his eyes skirted the wolfskin's. "Well it's a _lot_ easier to tell someone how you feel when there's nobody else around, cuz then it gets embarrassing...

He flushed. "I-I'm sorry, I must look a mess, what with the—"

Keaton's finger pressed against the kitsune's lips. "Shhh, ssshh... You look nice. You always look nice."

"Heheheh..." Kaden giggled, "you look like a bad boy, which is kinda hot. But then you're actually a goofy sweetheart which somehow makes it _even better—_ "

"Goofy sweetheart!" Keaton flushed. " _You're_ a goofy sweetheart! You're the one who got us lost on purpose!"

"Nuh uh, that's _your_ fault for getting us lost!"

Keaton threw up his hands. "But _you're_ the one who told me to—"

Kaden pulled him into a kiss, effectively cutting the wolfskin off.

After a long moment, the wolfskin pulled back. "Okay, seriously though, how're we gonna get back if neither of us know where we are?"

"Simple!" Kaden patted his chest. "I will lead us!"

"Wait, but..." Keaton tilted his head, his multicolored eyes shifting with unease. "You don't know where you're going either. We are lost, after all."

Kaden just shrugged. "Well, it's better than you leading."

"Mmmmm fair enough." Keaton's brows raised. "However, I must say I don't mind being lost if it's with you."

Kaden flushed. "C-Cool, because I _reciprocate_ those feelings."

Keaton snickered. "Cool indeed~"

And they did eventually get back, but it took all afternoon.

 **Happy birthday buddy!**

 **Also uh... I trust y'all enjoy! ^^**


End file.
